Liz Taylor set the bar for celebrity perfumes

Elizabeth Taylor, who died Wednesday at 79, might have been a movie legend, but she was a marketing pioneer. While actresses had endorsed fragrances as far back as the 1950s, Taylor took it a step further by becoming the first celebrity to launch her own line of perfume—White Diamonds in 1991. Taylor did perfume before every starlet had to have her own. Watching her ads today, her influence is clear. Nowadays, you simply can't pimp a fragrance without a confusing, enigmatic commercial. Check out one spot below, and another after the jump, along with a handful of Taylor's movie trailers from a time when all you had to do to sell a movie was to say Elizabeth was in it.

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Filed under Cullers, Fragrances, Obituaries
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Model from infamous anorexia ad dead at 28

Isabelle Caro, the French model who starred in a notorious anti-anorexia campaign shot by Oliviero Toscani, has died at age 28, according to the Associated Press. We wrote about that campaign when it broke in 2007. Caro weighed just 68 pounds at the time, and had battled anorexia since age 13. She was interviewed for Jessica Simpson's show The Price of Beauty this past March. See that video below.

Filed under Fashion, Health, Nudd, Obituaries
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Mr. Steinbrenner loomed large in ads, too

George Steinbrenner was the last of the old-school sports owners: larger than life, outspoken, controversial. He was also the first of a new breed to emerge in the '70s: hyperfocused and shrewd, intensely involved in the day-to-day machinations of his beloved New York Yankees and willing to spend whatever it took to win. As a slew of multimillionaire players from Reggie Jackson to A-Rod can attest, no price was too high. The World Series rings on their fingers—seven total under King George's reign—bear tribute to his battle plan. They booed him in Boston, but the Red Sox's free-agent-fueled titles in '04 and '07 underscore the fact that today, many are playing the Boss's game. Through the years, Steinbrenner made self-deprecating ads with his star players, managers and other celebs. The Visa spot with Derek Jeter, below, and the Miller Lite spot with Billy Martin, after the jump, were classics. Steinbrenner was frequently the biggest personality on screen. Criticized and praised, feared and revered, loved and hated—the man was, ultimately, a legend. George M. Steinbrenner died today at age 80. And no matter which direction he's heading now, he'll show 'em all who's Boss.

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Filed under Baseball, Celebrity endorsements, Gianatasio, Obituaries
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Gary Coleman's love-hate life in advertising

You had to feel bad for Gary Coleman when he was reduced to shilling for CashCall.com in 2007. The companies that hired the former child star toward the end of his life didn't have much respect for him, and Coleman, after years of financial struggle and brushes with the law, couldn't afford much for himself. Still, it was advertising that gave Coleman his early break, with his Chicagoland spots for Harris Bank first introducing viewers to the lovable kid who would become Arnold Jackson on Diff'rent Strokes. That character made him famous, and "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" was the "Where's the beef?" of '80s sitcoms. But despite his success, he had chronic financial woes, not all of his own making (his parents and former manager ripped him off), and was forced to return to advertising on a level that was beneath him (yes, even at 4-foot-8). The CashCall ads proved Coleman could laugh at himself, but it was pained laughter. That pain has now been eased. Gary Coleman died today at age 42.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

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Captain Lou, the quintessential 1980s icon?

Long before Gilbert Gottfried and Roseanne Barr proved you could build a career on in-your-face annoyance, there was Captain Lou Albano, a wrestling promoter so breathlessly brash that he could just about strip the paint off your living-room walls whenever he appeared on the TV. But thanks to his surprising and successful career moves (primarily, his inexplicable partnership with Cyndi Lauper), Albano transcended his role as a villain and became a beloved icon of the 1980s. And that's how he was remembered across the Web on Wednesday when news broke that he had died at his home from natural causes at age 76. Albano leaves behind a strange legacy, one that's nearly impossible to explain to anyone who didn't grow up in the '80s. In fact, he is probably the perfect representative of '80s entertainment, considering his famous affiliations with professional wrestling, MTV and even Nintendo. So, here's to Captain Lou, a man who proved you don't have to be brilliant or beautiful to be a star.

—Posted by David Griner

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Taco Bell’s iconic, $42M Chihuahua has died

One of the most memorable commercial mascots of all time, Taco Bell's Gidget the Chihuahua, has died at age 15. Her wide-eyed gaze and male-voiced catchphrase, “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” made her a fixture of the fast food chain’s late ’90s TV advertising. But for Taco Bell, those adorable ads were also a huge headache. A lawsuit from the concept’s creators led to a drawn-out legal battle that just reached its apparent conclusion in January of this year, when a federal appeals court ruled that Taco Bell should pay the originators $42 million. Then there’s the fact that Taco Bell sales actually slipped in the “Chihuahua Era,” leading many to say the campaign was ineffective. All that said, it’s still sad to see Gidget go.

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Griner, Obituaries, Taco Bell
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Billy Mays pallbearers honor the man in blue

Although Michael Jackson's upcoming funeral will surely be a feeding frenzy for photographers, it'll be hard to beat this photo op from today's burial ceremony for TV pitchman Billy Mays. With their khakis and rolled-up long-sleeve blue shirts, the pallbearers gave a fitting homage to the uniform that was almost as memorable as Mays' well-manicured beard. Mays died at his home June 28 from apparent natural causes. According to the Associated Press, which distributed the photo, Mays' eulogy covered everything from childhood memories to his devout Christian faith to his personal mantras like, "Life's a pitch, and then you buy."

—Posted by David Griner

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Iconic TV pitchman Billy Mays is dead at 50

He was the man with no inside voice, the man who seemed to be on every late-night cable channel at once, the man who comprehensively convinced us we don't need a cabinet full of cleaners. And now, sadly, infomercial icon Billy Mays is dead. Details were scarce Sunday, though there were apparently no signs of foul play, so that probably rules out the Yakuza gangsters who were stalking Mays in the hilarious self-parody above. It's always been hard to pin down what made Mays so good at selling cleaning products, dubiously necessary inventions and just about anything else. Was it the beard? The wildly gesticulating hands? The tone that straddled the line between evangelism and straight-out screaming? Obviously it was all of the above that catapulted Mays from hawking wares at local garden shows to reality TV stardom on the Discovery Channel's PitchMen. So here's to Billy Mays, a one-man sales juggernaut who, like fellow commercial legend Ed McMahon, was never afraid to laugh at his own public persona.

—Posted by David Griner

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R.I.P. Michael Jackson, adland's king of pop

It seems fitting, ironic and ultimately tragic that Michael Jackson's best-known ad moment involved a freak accident. In 1984, at the height of his mega-fame in the wake of Thriller, Jacko's hair caught on fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial for BBDO. Even in the pre-Internet age, and though he wasn't that badly hurt, the story was everywhere, all the time, for months. It became a media obsession. (It eventually inspired the title of Phil Dusenberry's book.) Such was MJ's blessing and curse. For a time, his celebrity rivaled that of Sinatra, Elvis or the Beatles. Far lesser celebrities have had their psyches crushed by the intensity and demand of the unclosing public eye. The biggest star of his generation, Michael Jackson cracked up in direct proportion to his fame. Cast as a god, the man embraced the role, seeking to remake himself in a pale, childlike image only he could understand. The endless cosmetic surgeries, the reclusive years at the Neverland Ranch and the bizarre pronouncements and behaviors are the stuff of legend. Of course, being reborn was something he could never achieve in life. The mighty, moon-walking King of Pop, largely a media construct himself, lost sight of the fact that we're simply not our own creations. Perhaps by now, an ever greater power has reminded him of that. Michael Jackson died on Thursday in Los Angeles at age 50.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Gianatasio, Michael Jackson, Obituaries
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Farrah Fawcett, always an advertising angel

Farrah Fawcett's ad history is rich and varied. She lathered up Joe Namath for Noxema, romped on the beach with a pooch for her own line of Faberge shampoos (above), and kept her famous smile fresh with Ultra-Brite. She was once married to Lee Majors, the Six-Million Dollar Man. It was a '70s Brangelina-type union that fueled tabloid headlines when many of the tabloids were still new. She gave several solid, serious acting performances, notably in The Burning Bed and Extremities. Of course, that swimsuit poster was her greatest claim to fame: In the Bicentennial year, its sales, reportedly 12 million, probably rivaled those of Old Glory. Farrah Fawcett died on Thursday at 62. She got her wings too soon.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Gianatasio, Obituaries
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R.I.P. Ed McMahon, self-deprecating ad star

At one time, Ed McMahon was one of the most famous human beings on the media landscape. From 1962 until 1992, as the announcer on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, his "H-e-e-e-e-re's Johnny" catchphrase, guffaws from the guest couch (frequently unrelated to anything taking place on the program) and self-deprecating humor helped define late-night TV. He was a pop-culture icon of the first degree, often parodied (notably by Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live), sometimes challenged for sidekick supremacy (Paul Schaffer at his peak), but never duplicated. As his health and finances deteriorated in recent years, he knowingly lampooned his own image (and strove to pay the bills) by rapping in ads for FreeCreditReport.com (above) and sharing screen time with Hammer in a Cash4Gold spot that aired during February's Super Bowl. He never took himself too seriously, and he kept his dignity and celebrity intact until the end. When it comes to playing second banana, he'll always be No. 1. Ed McMahon died today at age 86.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Cash4Gold.com, FreeCreditReport.com, Gianatasio, Obituaries
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Patrick McGoohan, a man ahead of his time

Legend has it that Patrick McGoohan was the first choice for the role of James Bond in the inaugural 007 film, Dr. No, but he turned it down, at least in part because he felt the character was too promiscuous. That probably says it all for McGoohan, one of pop culture's great contrarians. In 1968, he would subvert the then white-hot spy genre by creating The Prisoner, perhaps the ultimate cult TV show of all time. Through its cerebral and surreal 17 episodes, McGoohan portrayed a former secret agent, known only as Number 6, who is imprisoned on a mysterious island where everyone has numbers instead of names. At the end, he escapes—or does he? It's implied that he was perhaps his own jailer, and that in our high-tech, mass-media society, freedom is just another trap. In the Internet age, with instant access to information about everyone and everything, The Prisoner's message has never seemed more prescient. "Be seeing you" was the show's catchphrase. Both comforting and discommoding, it was as ambiguous and open to interpretation as McGoohan himself. He died in Los Angeles this week at age 80. Be seeing you.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Gianatasio, Obituaries, Television
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You'd buy anything from Ricardo Montalban

Ricardo Montalban died yesterday, so we'll honor his memory by posting this ad for the 1975 Chrysler Cordoba. That may not seem like much of a tribute, but just stop and think about every Chrysler you've ever owned, and the company's financial performance over the past decade. That Ricardo managed to make one of their cars sound like the most decadent vehicle since Caligula's chariot is pretty impressive. Plus, it was either this or something from The Wrath of Khan, which didn't seem fair.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

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Movie trailers lose their most famous voice

In a world where movie trailers brazenly promise thrills and chills that the films themselves rarely provide, gravel-voiced Don LaFontaine turned the coming-attractions voiceover into an pop-culture art form. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he ably voiced ads for Coca-Cola, McDonald's, GM, Geico (appearing on camera in a recent spot) and countless other advertisers, but he literally set the tone for thousands of modern movie trailer. His dramatic delivery and dynamic inflection made Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Willis seem more heroic, pumped up the sex appeal of Angelina Jolie and Sharon Stone, and made countless screen villains more menacing. "In a world ... " was his oft-aped catchphrase. Don LaFontaine moved on to the next one yesterday at age 68. If the afterlife turns out to be less than a blockbuster, at least now they've got someone who knows how to make it sound divine.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Film, Gianatasio, Obituaries
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